Extraterrestrial

Two meteorites that fell in 1998 were found to contain traces of liquid water and organic compounds vital to life. Now, a comprehensive chemical analysis of them suggests their organic matter could come from an ancient ocean world, giving them the potential to kickstart life wherever they land.

Bacteria are hardy, but even they have their limits. One of those was previously thought to be polar ice, but a new study has now observed bacteria living in those conditions. That discovery has implications for our understanding of Earth's past climate, as well as life elsewhere in the universe.

Microscopic fossils found in Australia decades ago appeared to show evidence of life dating back almost 3.5 billion years, but have since been contested. New analysis shows that the microfossils are indeed biological, and the find may have implications for the likelihood of extraterrestrial life.

​According to a new study, evidence of alien life in the atmospheres of potentially habitable exoplanets could be hidden from telescopic eyes by unusual air flow patterns. The research could have significant implications regarding how astronomers carry out their search for extraterrestrial life.

While SETI is content to scan the skies for signals, Messaging Extraterrestrial Intelligence (METI) takes a more active approach. Radio transmissions containing snippets of music have been sent to a potentially-habitable planet about 12 light-years from Earth, in hopes of making first contact.

Fast Radio Bursts (FRBs) have puzzled astronomers since they were first detected 10 years ago. Normally FRBs fire off once and aren’t heard from again, but one has repeated over the years, and this week it has kicked into hyperdrive, pulsing an unprecedented 15 times in the space of a few hours.

Humankind has long looked at the stars and wondered if there is intelligent life out there. And if so, could we contact them? There are a few options, but which has the greater chance of success? Sending radio messages or unmanned probes? Let's have a look.

New types of bacteria have been found in one of the most alien environments on Earth: a subglacial lake buried beneath almost a thousand feet of ice. Conditions could be strikingly similar to oceans of Europa or Enceladus, so studying these organisms could aid the search for extraterrestrial life.

When scientists look for extraterrestrial life, they typically turn their focus upwards, to planets like Mars, moons like Enceladus and exoplanets beyond our own solar system. But for Lara Rowe, an assistant professor of chemistry at Valparaiso University in Indiana, the search begins in the lab.

In August 1977, the Ohio State University Radio Observatory picked up a radio transmission that was so strong it inspired the astronomer who discovered it to write “Wow!” in the margin of the data printout. Almost 40 years later, researchers have solved the mystery.